How to record a Zoom Phone call on a Mac

Zoom Phone can record calls itself, but only as your account admin allows: automatically for every call, or on demand with a Record control during the call. Those recordings are saved to Zoom's cloud, and the admin decides which prompts the other person hears. To keep a recording and transcript on your own Mac instead, tell the other person you are recording, then record the call with an app that captures your microphone and the Mac's audio, such as Notey.

Phone calls are where consent laws are strictest, so this guide covers that too. Zoom Phone's rules were checked on Zoom's support site on 25 September 2026; check Zoom's automatic call recording article for the current state. For Zoom meetings rather than phone calls, see how to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac.

Zoom Phone runs in the Zoom Workplace desktop app, under Phone. These steps use Notey.

Record a Zoom Phone call on your Mac

1. Check who you are calling, and where they are. Decide whether you need their consent, and plan to ask either way.
2. Check Notey's permissions. The first time, allow Notey to use the microphone and to record the Mac's audio. It never asks for Screen Recording.
3. Use headphones. On speakers, the other person's voice reaches your microphone and can land on your side of the transcript.
4. Place or answer the call in the Zoom app.
5. Tell the other person you would like to record. Wait for a yes before recording.
6. Allow the recording when Notey asks. Notey watches the Zoom app, not the kind of call, so it treats a Zoom Phone call like a Zoom meeting and asks on its floating button. Nothing is saved until you press Allow. If no prompt appears, press Start in Notey.
7. Press Stop when the call ends. A red dot and the elapsed time show until you do.

One caution: if you once ticked Always record Zoom calls on Notey's floating button, that choice covers every call in the Zoom app, Zoom Phone calls included, and they start recording without the question. Each one is announced on the floating button with Stop beside it. If you do not want phone calls recorded automatically, change the choice back to asking each time on Notey's Account screen, where it is listed.

Zoom Phone's own recording

Per Zoom's support articles:

• Automatic recording is set by account owners or admins, at the account, group, site, call queue or user level. "All call recordings will be saved to the cloud." (Zoom: automatic call recording)
• Ad hoc recording lets users "record calls using in-call controls", if the admin allows it. (Zoom: ad hoc call recording)
• Prompts the admin can set include one played to the caller before connecting, consent options ("Press 1 to provide consent to be recorded"), a prompt when recording starts or stops, and a beep tone. Zoom notes that "if a call participant joins the call after this prompt is played, they will not hear the prompt."
• Transcripts: admins can allow Zoom to transcribe call recordings.
• Licence: Zoom Phone needs a Zoom Workplace licence with Phone included, or a standalone Zoom Phone plan. It works in the desktop app on macOS, on mobile and in the Zoom web app.

If recording is not available to you in the call, your admin has not enabled it; ask them rather than working around it.

Which method to use

At work, your company's own recording, with its prompts and retention, is often the one you are expected to use. Check your policy before adding a second recorder.

Consent on phone calls

A phone call is where the difference between one-party and all-party consent matters most. In some places you may record a call you take part in without telling the other person; in others, everyone must agree, and a call between two places may fall under the stricter rule. One-party vs two-party consent explains the difference. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Whatever the law, asking works everywhere: "I'd like to record this call for my notes. Is that OK?" If they say no, do not record. Zoom Phone's own prompts can do some of this for you; a recorder on your Mac cannot, because it is not part of the call.

Get a usable recording

• Headphones, so the tracks stay separate.
• Check the Zoom app's microphone and speaker in its audio settings, and that the call is playing on this Mac, not on a desk phone or your mobile.
• Test for ten seconds before an important call.

If a call is handed from the Mac to your phone halfway through, the Mac stops hearing it, and the rest of the call is not on the recording.

If a side is missing from the recording

Most failed recordings of a Zoom Phone call fail in one of three ways, and each is quick to check before the next call:

• Nothing on the Them lane. The call was not playing on this Mac, or Notey is not allowed to record the Mac's audio. Check the call's sound comes out of this Mac, and check the permission in System Settings › Privacy & Security. Allowing an app to record your Mac's audio shows where it is.
• Nothing on the You lane. The microphone is muted at the system level, the wrong input is selected, or Notey is not allowed to use the microphone. Meeting recording silent or transcript empty goes through the checks.
• A gap in the middle. Usually headphones connected or disconnected, or another microphone chosen, mid-call. Notey marks the meeting incomplete and says which side is missing and from when; it never fills the gap with silence. Why a recording is marked incomplete explains each reason.

What you get afterwards

• A transcript made on your Mac, your lines as You and theirs as Them. You can name the other side.
• The recording, on your Mac, with every line playable.
• AI notes if you ask, with an account and a paid plan, such as a summary with action items or a follow-up email. Only transcript text is sent, never audio.

For taking notes on calls more generally, including calls on your mobile, see phone call notes on a Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Can I record a Zoom Phone call?

If your admin allows it. Zoom's documentation says admins set automatic call recording and ad hoc recording, where users record with in-call controls. Recordings are saved to the cloud.

Does the other person hear that the call is recorded?

With Zoom Phone's own recording, the admin can set prompts, including one played when recording starts and a beep tone. Zoom notes that someone who joins after the prompt will not hear it. A recorder on your Mac plays nothing, so you tell them.

Does Notey notice a Zoom Phone call?

Notey recognises the Zoom app, not the kind of call inside it, so a Zoom Phone call in the Zoom desktop app is treated like a Zoom meeting and Notey asks whether to record. If no prompt appears, press Start.

Do I need everyone's consent to record a phone call?

It depends on where you and the other person are. Some places require only one party's consent, others require everyone's. On a call across borders, the stricter rule is the safe one. This is not legal advice.

Where are Zoom Phone recordings stored?

Zoom's documentation says all call recordings are saved to the cloud, in your Zoom account. A recording made with Notey stays on your Mac.